Posts by Elizabeth Giorgi

Interview

Rocket Girl, the second Image Comic collaboration between artist Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare, will give readers a look at the future as we imagined it in the 80s. Reeder took a moment from her busy SDCC schedule to give us a quick preview of Rocket Girl and the process of creating different kinds of sexy female characters.
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Hello Sweetie

Doctor Who returns at the end of the month, meaning Matt Smith is going to get all adorable up on our TV screens every Saturday night for the rest of the spring. Life is good for a Whovian. But for long-time David Tennant fans, their love of the 11th has been slow and at times, tempestuous. Sure, he’s not as controlled or as clever, but he’s sweet and thoughtful and more honest about his affection.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the show and the impending return at the end of the month, I’ve compiled five reasons lovers of the 10th should forget that drip and make room for the 11th in their hearts.
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Essay

The Oscar Nominations are out and the Golden Globes have come and gone. And while I should be delighted that Jennifer Lawrence took home the Globe for her stellar performance in Silver Linings Playbook, I can’t help but feel a sense of bitterness every time awards season gets underway. Why? Because geek movies are so consistently snubbed, it’s almost as if they’re cursed.
Ok, so they’re probably not cursed. After all, that would be ridiculous. (Just ask Leonardo DiCaprio.) History shows us that the Academy has little to no appreciation for geek-centric films. Here’s a list of notable Academy Award snubs for context:
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Essay

In 108 minutes, Wreck-It Ralph accomplishes something the entire video game industry has failed to achieve for more than 30 years: Wreck-It Ralph contains more positive and nuanced female characters than the entire current video game landscape. Three major consoles. Hundreds of major and indie developers. Mobile and handheld gaming. Thousands of writers, programmers and artists. Millions, maybe even billions, in marketing dollars. All schooled by one movie.
I applaud the filmmakers, but I’m utterly baffled, because they made it look easy. And for so long, we have been told it’s “hard” to sell games with female characters we can look up to, care for and relate to. I think $49.1 million at the box office, which is Disney Animation’s highest opening weekend in history, tells a very different story. Listen up gamers, it’s time for a revolution.
Let’s start with Vanellope Von Schweetz and her home game, Sugar Rush.
Editor's Note: The rest of this post contains SPOILERS. Read at your own risk!
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Essay

The economy is on everyone’s mind. Who is getting hired and fired? Who’s finding work? Who isn’t? The current unemployment rate in the United States is 7.8%, but that number doesn’t reflect one of the primary problems in our economy today: many people aren’t advancing or can’t find full-time work in their desired field.
For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported “the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons rose from 8.0 million in August to 8.6 million in September.” Individuals in the study reported working part time because, “their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.”
This is the situation many of my friends and former colleagues find themselves in today. So I’ve been thinking a lot about how they can get the upper hand when looking for a job. If you are in a similar situation, I think I have the answer: Are you leveraging your geek status as an asset to potential employers?Read More

It Came From Outer Space

Astrophysicist wonder boy Neil DeGrasse Tyson once said:
“We are part of this universe. We are in this universe. But perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the universe is in us.”
If you love the idea of the universe being in us, how about wearing it? New fashion house Shadow Play NYC will help you do just that.

Excelsior!

If you’re looking forward to The Amazing Spider-Man for the math, I have good news. It’s accurate.
University of Minnesota physics professor Jim Kakalios was the official science consultant on the film and gave the filmmakers the scientific basis for wall crawling and the tensile strength of spiders webbing. His biggest contribution, however, was an equation called the Decay Rate Algorithm.
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Do Try This At Home

Tumblr user Tom Hiddlestunned (GREAT name!) mocked up these incredible Avengers TOMS shoe in Photoshop. I wish they were real. And judging by the number of people commenting on Tumblr (14,746 notes since yesterday) – many others agree. Hit the jump to see more!
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+2 Cha -2 Str

Resident style contributor Elizabeth Giorgi takes some time out from DIYing Wonder Woman shoes to share some general advice and personal experience that's just as relevant to anybody who isn't dating a geek or isn't a geek themselves.
I’ve been a self-identified nerd since I was 16, but I didn’t always date within my identity. I dated all kinds. Hipsters. Musicians. Wannabe hipsters. Bad musicians. My current boyfriend is a total nerd too, but I almost gave up on our relationship after our first date because he hadn’t read George Orwell’s 1984. (And he over-used exclamation points in his emails.)
Five years later, I’m so happy I didn’t let dystopian fiction and punctuation stand in the way of love. Here’s 5 rules for geek dating:
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Make It So

We're not sure we have the patience for contributor Elizabeth Giorgi's recipe for Cap cupcakes, but we would certainly have the patience to eat them.
1. Bake a cupcake. Any kind, then put white frosting on them. Make sure it’s pretty even, because it will help later.
2. Get some fondant circle cutters. I used these. Put the largest one on around the edge. Now, use your clean fingers to gently tap on some edible glittering sugar dust. I used this brand. (You can buy it at Michael’s Crafts.)
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